Latter Day Banjo

An ecstasy of conservative-backed writers lavishes on us Orwellian slogans espousing good, old-fashioned Aussie common sense, or, translated: the self-interest of conservative rule, the wealthy and their billionaire media mogul patron saint. The recent death of the great speech-writer Graham Freudenberg coincides with the contemporary vacuum of great policy ideals. Instead, progressive economic and social liberalism has evaporated under the watch of the party the late Sir Robert Menzies founded.

The Banjo sends down some acid rain on the parade of pernicious political indifference and pays a tribute to that tiny titan teenage tactician for zero emission, Greta Thunberg.

Praise be your non-specific preferred omnipotent deity: Section 41 of the proposed new Religious Discrimination Bill over-rides the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Bill. It provides safety for all of us, especially in Silent Australia, a model of special protection both for those of religious faith and even for those of no religion. The faithful can return to their safe place, where they can resume righteous persecution of those who make - shall we say - unsafe lifestyle choices. Rejoice! The Bill enables us to speak our minds, provided our religion says it's so.

‘I believe in a fair go for those who have a go,’ PM Scott Morrison stated during the opening press conference of the 2019 election. But what does he mean by 'a fair go'? And the rider 'have a go'? What does a ScoMo 'fair go' look like? How fair is it? Australia voted him in and now he has a mandate to cut taxes and government to it s bare bones, lock up refugees without trial and favour the wealthy minority over the rest. I, for one, have a have a problem with the Prime Ministerial so-called fair go. Have a listen and ask yourself if you have a similar problem.

Warning: the following content may contain elements of satire. Faith in politicians might seem to be vanishing amongst the Green-Left agony aunties, but all is well. Our esteemed Prime Minister sets a high store in hard work. ‘The harder people work,’ he advises us, ‘the more they earn and the more they get to keep.’ The leaders of our great land are prepared to listen to the constituents who talk sense, just as Rupert explains how it must be for those too thick to get it. Trust ScoMo and the team in Parliament. There's nothing to ee, as they just get on with their responsible fiscal management and what's-good-for-us pragmatism.

‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ In this winter of progressive discontent, it is a question we might well ask as to the presence of warmth, friendliness and freedom. What happened to the egalitarian country of my younger years? An erosion of democratic freedom is happening before our eyes. I am hoping it will pass in the due course of historical tide, but as it does, we need to update our national anthem. I offer an alternative, adapted from Bruce Woodley's well-known 'I am Australian.'

100 Year Nines. Five teachers. An admin that pretends all their kids are angels. A campsite lacking staff, power and equipment. What could go wrong? Would you care enough to risk your neck for a kid who had given you nothing but trouble? How far does a teacher's duty of care go, anyway? Are you sick of your boss requiring you to jump through hoops set by their political masters? 'Duty of Care' is a novella that asks these questions. Listen to a few exerpts and a summation of what it is to be a teacher who does not like the tech-focussed, data-driven, box-ticking direction modern education has taken. Order it https://www.amazon.com/Duty-Care-Jonathan-Gordon-Cocks/dp/1786292343 Reviews https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/duty-care

This episode relates to modern secondar education. It takes the form of a lesson reconstruct, to walk the listener through what a typical Year Eleven English class might look like. It highlights how technology is often more of a tory than a tool to the millennial. It shows teacher frustration in dealing with obstacles to delivering educational content. It laments the passing of an age in which teachers teach. It satirises contemprary obsession with data-based 'proof' that our modern-day methodology is working.

I'm averse to the Murdocracy we live in, and seek to put my Banjo spin the May 18 'miracle'. Token, temporary tax cuts for the workers, and things we aren't getting, like action on climate change, apparently, are 'a fair go' in a Murdocracy. This is the first in a series of weekly takes on life in Australia, for all those who are at odds with the poisonous emissions coming daily from the Murdocrats and might enjoy a verse or two from the Latter Day Banjo.